Judex

Ratings & Reviews

Ratings & Reviews

The masquerade scene is one for the ages, true magic. Otherwise it's a bit of a cascade of an adventure movie true to its pulp origins in Feuillade; lots of deus ex machinas, random events, quick scenes. There is some nice interplay with black and white, especially in the final scene on the rooftops, mut as a whole it's bit of a mess.

Judex is essentially Batman, cape and all. So I guess that makes Berge's character Catwoman? Anyways, this is a great homage to Feuillade by Franju, and some scenes even remind of Les Vampires, not just Judex serial. Pollock's touches of magic add a cool dimension to the character, and the first reveal of Judex at the costume party is one of the great moments in all of cinema in my opinion. Great film. 4.5 stars

Wonderful black and white caper movie that is lots of fun. Short and enjoyable, my only real complaint here was that it felt too short. Incredibly underrated, it should be watched if you get the chance!

Bring out the magicians, circus people, and boy detective. It's time to get the bad guys. I love that shot of the 3 guys scaling the wall together. Mr. Handsome has a bit of a dilemma there towards the end. How does he deal with the bad guy and his lovely daughter at the same time? That and having to walk around all the time with pigeons. Sacre bleu!

Franju pays homage to Feuillade's classic caper films - it's good & all with its moments and cast. Storyline may have drifted away a little back & forth, but still builds up with some exciting mystery & action. Scob's performance & Jarre's music are both great as usual, loved both the magical masquerade scene & the ending. Franju was still brilliant at his time, now I am looking forward to seeing the original soon.

Franju very much at play with a series of comic book vignettes that look ravishing but begin to drag halfway through. Inconsequential fun and perhaps a more stylish filmic antecedent to the lumbering Hollywood action films of today.

Well executed mystery film in the vein of early Franju. The time to time expressionist aesthetism of the film (reference to Feuillade) adds something special and classy. Nice invective against the hypocrite and infamous banksters as well. Classic one !

Watching Judex is an amazing visual experience. Franju was alluding to an earlier period in French cinema and added a nice noirish look to it. The lighting and camera angles were very nice. The story seems a tad underdeveloped with characters and twists popping up out of nowhere, investing in stuff they have no stake in.

It's meant to be a light-hearted romp. But, all of Franju's work is so infused with the dark history of the two world wars, particularly the first, that the innocence in his films is always revelatory. And unsettling. The fragile magic here comes from a haunted void. Is the timeless setting France 1914? It's an evocation of a dream past that in the deadpan manner of its telling, must be real.

A strange work indeed. Full of formal elegance and such artistry but at the same time all in the form of almost pulp storytelling. But there is much brewing under the surface. A film worth mulling over.

If the striking imagery of silent cinema met a cooler, more toned down version of Adam West’s Batman serials, with a dash of old crime caper thrown in. It has evocative images, such as the bird masks, and slightly sci-fi tinged silliness, with wall climbing vigilantees and masked do gooders. It’s a mixed bag, and seems more to be a string of ideas than a completed whole, but it is none the less a fun excursion.